Age-Friendly Newsletters

September 7, 2017The AFCI has begun an ambitious Home Safety Project; you’ll be hearing about other features of it in the coming weeks. The first piece is our purchase of an impressive collection of adaptive tools for home use, including things like kitchen helpers and aids to facilitate vision and manual dexterity.The tools were carefully researched and selected by Mary LeConey, Occupational Therapist, and Jane Chandler, Registered Nurse, both with Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice. A special catalog will list how you may purchase these tools, including locally.As part of the education and awareness feature of our program, we’re displaying the tools collection this fall. In several public get-togethers, an AFCI member will show the collection and catalog and encourage conversation about age-related issues.The first such opportunity will be at the Bethel Area Senior Citizens meeting/luncheon on Wednesday, September 13. This will be followed by other get-togethers, including the October 6 Seniors Plus Aging Well, Living Well expo at Sunday River and the Alliance Church’s Community Supper in October.Hooray! We’ve finished the Resource Directory for our website! But maybe you haven’t even visited our website ... there’s a lot of good stuff on there; go see for yourself (www.agefriendlybethel.org)! And now our feature item is ready for consumption. We’ve worked hard to compile a guide to services available to seniors (and others) - most in our area, but some are statewide. On the website click on the “Resources” tab and then “Directory of Services.” We developed it because of suggestions from our community survey two years ago, and we think it will be of great use to community residents. Be sure to tell us if we’ve forgotten any category or if information needs to be updated. The directory is primarily an online service, and we will be updating it as frequently as possible. While there will be a few printed copies available as resources throughout the five communities, they will not be distributed (and won’t be as up-to-date).End of summer = produce galore! If you have excess produce, you may take it to Nabos on Main and Mechanic Streets in Bethel; Amanda will put it out for people to take (and you may take some too) and get it to the Food Pantry on the appropriate days.A few upcoming events: on Friday, September 8, several interesting events, including an Introduction to Reiki for cancer patients; Saturday, September 9, Alder River Grange potluck dinner, ceramics workshop, Kickoff for CROP (Communities Respond to Overcome Poverty; Sunday, September 10, Garden to Gourmet with Anna Sysko; Tuesday, September 12, dinner dance at Jackson-Silver Post 68; Thursday, September 14, Maine Outdoor Film Festival at the Gem Theater.

Learn about the Grandparent Scam from AARP at http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2017/scam-victim- profile.html? You might be a typical victim if this describes you: “Predators know that I am conscientious about my family's safety and well-being. That's what they are counting on when they call me up with the grandparent scam. That's the one in which someone who has learned enough details about me, perhaps through a hack of my email account, makes a convincing call posing as a grandchild in distress and begging for a quick cash drop. I'm also a prime target for the IRS scam, in which a convincing letter or phone call warns me of arrest or ruinous fines unless I send money to settle a tax debt. Even if I smell a rat, I might follow through to avoid jeopardizing my family.” Do not respond to such requests!

AARP quotes a new poll finding that the vast majority of patients between 50 and 80 years of age don’t talk to their health care providers about the cost of the medicines being prescribed for them or about whether less costly alternatives are available. Patients are urged to open this conversation with their doctors, as healthcare providers are often able to suggest lower-cost drug options. http://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-2017/physicians- lower-prescription-drug-costs-fd.html?AARP celebrates male caregivers through a series of videotaped stories; visithttp://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/info-2017/celebrate-male- caregivers-studios.html? Also of Interest are several Caregiving Guides: First-Time Caregiver, Long- Distance Caregiving, and Caregiving at Home.